Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said he plans "to aim for the resumption of commercial whaling by conducting whaling research," despite a ban imposed by the International Court of Justice.

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe delivers a policy speech during the Ordinary Diet session of the House of Representatives in Tokyo, Japan on January 24, 2014. (UPI/Keizo Mori) | License Photo

TOKYO, June 9 (UPI) -- Despite a whaling ban imposed months earlier by the International Court of Justice, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said Japan plans to resume its whale hunt in the Antarctic.

"I want to aim for the resumption of commercial whaling by conducting whaling research."

The ICJ ruled on March 31 that Japan's annual whale hunt -- conducted under the auspices of a scientific research program -- did not conform to the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, and ordered Japan to stop the program.